hello all,
back home as of last night after a tough old slog on the epic RATN.
It was great to meet QG. I loved The Netherlands. I made a bit of a pigs ear of the race and suffered pretty badly as a result, all largely self inflicted.
Thanks to the poster who gave me a route to ride to Harwich (seems like a million years ago now) It was a pretty back country journey. I arrived way too early in Harwich and hunkered down in pretty foul weather. I really enjoyed the crossing, the first time I have done so with just a bicycle. It was fun meeting other cycle tourists, all excited to be heading off on their various adventures. I also met Lee who was racing, mentioned on here earlier. A super nice guy. We bumped into each other a fair bit on day one of the event. I met Tom too on the road that day, a very strong rider and like Lee, super experienced in audax.
I was pretty blown away by the riding conditions rolling off the ferry in Rotterdam. Excellent cycling paths and a futuristic city that has successfully meshed together green space, farming, livestock and a lot of people in such a way that it all jives and shows just what can be done when there is a will.
I arrived at the bike check that afternoon, signed in then headed off to a hotel about 12km away to rest up before the start the following morning.
I had no real race plan when we set off, just follow the dots on the wahoo. After feeling like I was taking an exam for months prior on TCR events with route and logistics plans I had been keen to make sure that this one didn't suck up family life and I just enjoyed the scenery and surprises ahead on a fixed route format.
I bit off about 300km (plus the ride from my hotel) that first day and grabbed a hotel late. On reflection I was pretty dehydrated and should have stopped earlier. (I'm dealing with a nice little UTI right now that I suspect began that day)
I ripped the sidewall out of my rear tire sometime in the early evening that day too. I had a spare tire (unbelievable) in my substantial kit and set about remounting a new tubeless comparable tire. 90 minutes later and after much swearing and grunting, as many a rider sailed by me I had finally got the tire on the rim, not before snapping a Kool stop tire bead jack. Then the tube I had inserted was defective.....start again.
I'd sorely underestimated the average speed I'd be able to cruise at and had no concept of what it's like to ride into an angry wind for hours at a time.
All that being said I really enjoyed the unfolding scenery, if not the wind and made pretty good progress until a couple of days on...yes I took a 135km detour.
I don't know what to tell you really except that my artistic brain seems to be wired differently than the norm. The basic outline is that I had holed up in a hotel in Lemner, mid way through a section. Woke early and got a jump on the other racers at the hotel. Flashed up the wahoo and, in a misting rain, sped off. I made a wrong turn missing a bike path and the wahoo rerouted. I thought I was back on route and continued pounding away following the unbeknownst to me "blue" arrows. At some point I thought "well this section isn't quite as nice as the other bits. I haven't seen any other racers for a bit, they are probably just getting up and grabbing breakfast." Then many km further I realised my horrible mistake and at this point I thought as soon as I see a coffee shop ill have sit down and see what the hell happened. Another big mistake ontop of the original here.... no coffee shop in sight I bashed on and when I toggled out underway on the wahoo I saw the dots taking me to the coast. Ah crap I thought, it's taken me deep off route and is then intersecting the real route on the coast. I'll just get there and ride back up the parcour to the beginning and come back down it. except that wasn't what it was showing. It had routed me back to the beginning of yesterdays section I had started! The horror dawned on me when I got there and it all looked familiar. With a cold claw round my heart, I turned round and rode that 65 km I had just done back to the start of the mornings ride in Lemner. 7 hours later, 135 km in the legs, depleted by whatever emotional energy costs, I struck off again in the right direction. Writing this all down it seems ridiculous, but that is what occurred. I felt stupid, angry, upset. But it was done.
I got as far as I could with the remaining time and ended up in a fancy hotel in Hoon. It turned out to be the worst stop of the lot. Nowhere to leave the bike safely, and aside from the big bill and 24 hour check in absolutely nothing available. I rose early in pretty bad shape, actually took a photo in the mirror that morning, my face was puffed up and unrecognisable.
I continued on now meeting other riders from further back in the pack. That was the nice thing about the screw up, I met more people!
I got my act together and calculated that I could still make the finish in time if I cracked on and thought positively.
A couple of days later I had a really bad muscular back spasm. It was one of those situations where a small little muscle had been niggling somewhere under the shoulder blade (probably aggravated by seating a stubborn tire) One of those things you ignore (at your peril as it turns out) as you are generally pretty sore all over and its just a bit of pain. All of a sudden everything locked up on the left side and I couldn't ride. I was on the causeways in Zeeland and the wind was cranking up. I only had 140 km in the bag but there was no option, I found a resort and checked in that afternoon. It was a pretty remote area and no massage or anything was available. That night I pretty well resigned myself to having to call it. I even plugged a route in so that I could limp back to Utrecht overland for the morning. A nights sleep however and rolling back to the route, I realised that if I crouched over the bars and didn't stretch out my left side I could ride. I actually spent most of the remainder of the race holding the aero pads and using my right arm for as much of the riding as possible. Ive had a bit of ulnar palsy years ago after TCR which seems to be the norm, but this time I just have it in the RHS!
I continued on slow and steady and the kms whittled down. The riding through The Dunes due South was amazing and a tail wind too. One of my old mates of 40 years who joined up in the RM with me was camping along the route kite surfing and came to say hello which gave me a real boost. The wind strength coming around the Middleburg headland was insane. Ive never ridden in anything like it.
The hills in Limberg were short but eye popping gradients at the bottom. I did manage to ride them all but only because I was really low geared (if over weighed down with luggage)
Just when I thought Id be making the cut I had a series of punctures in the rear tire. To cut an already long diatribe short, I went through the remaining tubes over the last couple and ended up flagging down a local who sorted me with patches. Timing was horrible with holidays and Sunday closings etc, so but for that act of kindness I wouldn't have made the finish. I rolled in to the finish on about 20 psi, shattered but happy. Got a beer and looked back to see the tire totally flat.
Im not religious, but it really felt like the race was a serious of Devine challenges to overcome!
In conclusion RATN is a pretty serious event not to be underestimated. Come under prepared at your own peril (Jonah!)
It's a beautiful route and a fabulous country. I feel really enriched by the experience and had to dig deep within myself to cope.
On the one hand Im glad that I didn't obsess over the event months prior, but some more planning and training would have saved me a whole bunch of drama.
It also made me realise that Im no longer mentally or physically prepared to take on any of the longer more arduous events out there, and thats okay.
I highly recommend RATN.
